Virtual machine and tips for speeding up its operation. Lord of Virtual Machines: Practical Tips for Deploying Virtual Infrastructure

It's scary to think what could happen to the operating system if a virus gets there. And the OS in VirtualBox is not in danger! No virus or other bug will be able to get to the main system from a newly installed suspicious program, no matter what you do, no matter what you do, the state of the guest OS can be returned to working condition with just a few keystrokes - for this it will be enough to select a pre-taken snapshot of a healthy system.

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Virtual machine. Virtual machine settings.

The time has come to configure the virtual machine itself. In the upper left corner, click on the icon "Tune".

An additional window with settings will open. You will see your system name, type and version in the first window.

In the tab "Additionally" you need to specify a location to store the system snapshots that you will take.
Specify the clipboard parameters and how it will interact with the main system.
Enable or disable the mini toolbar about the system status, connected devices and its location (by default it is located at the bottom of the screen).

On the menu "System" in the tab "Motherboard" The size of the RAM you have already installed will be indicated.
You can also set the boot device order here. Install the first device from which the operating system will be installed.
In additional settings you can leave everything as it is. If anything, an explanation for each item is displayed at the bottom of the window.

In the tab "CPU" indicates how many processors are available and how many will be used in the virtual machine. If you install OS 32(86), then there should be 1 processor, but if 64, then 2 processors or more, it all depends on the capabilities of your computer.
The "CPU load limit" item sets the maximum size for the load of the main processor. I always set it to 75% and that's quite enough.
Check the box "Additional features" -> "Enable "PAE/NX" so the guest system can work directly with the processor.

Menu item "Display", tab "Video"- here you set the graphic memory size for the video card of the virtual machine. How much to install is up to you. If you are going to play serious games in it, then of course the graphics should be high.
"Number of monitors"- shows how many monitors are available and on how many monitors you want to set the virtual machine display.
"Additional Features" allow you to specify whether 2D and 3D graphics will be used in the system.

In menu item "Carriers" the number of virtual and real connected CD/DVD media and hard drives is set.
In the inner window "Information carriers" select "IDE controller", two icons will appear to add disks, hard and CD/DVD or virtual.

Select the one you need and set it as empty (see screenshot). Next, here on the right you will see “Drive”, where you need to set its parameters and indicate the location, whether it will be a disk image, or a virtual drive, or a real drive. Below, for speed of work and permission to work directly, you can check the appropriate boxes.

Be sure to install primary IDE drive with the installed operating system.

Menu item "Audio". The operating settings are always already set by default, but if you want to change them, use another sound device present on your computer, or turn off the sound completely, make the appropriate settings.

Next item "Net". In the latest versions of VirtualBox, all settings for interaction with the network card are already configured by default and are quite functional, unlike the first versions of the program, where everything had to be configured manually after surfing the entire Internet in search of hints.
If you also have a network card installed and you work with two providers, or maybe you have a home network, then of course all this can be configured here. All the details are in another article.

In point "USB" You don’t have to touch anything, unless of course you want to connect an additional device. And flash drives can be manipulated directly from the virtual machine by selecting the menu "Devices", paragraph "USB" and choose which flash drive you want to connect. Attention! If you switch the flash drive to the guest system, it will not be displayed in the real system and the opposite will happen after turning it off from the guest system.

And the last menu item "Shared Folders". Here you can add or remove shared folders for the real and guest OS. They are connected in the virtual machine as a network drive, so when connecting, immediately check the box "Auto-connect". And you can also choose how the folder will work with files on this network drive, with full management access or "Only for reading".

The virtual machine is now configured. You can safely run it and install the guest operating system.

This article is dedicated to the best virtualization platform for desktop computers VMware Workstation, forgive me fans of VirtualBox, HyperV, etc.

A virtual machine is a program that allows you to emulate a stand-alone computer in a working operating system environment. A virtual machine allows you to run your own operating system and applications just like a physical computer.

This program allows you to emulate a processor, RAM, hard drive, BIOS, etc.

The emulation program itself, as well as the operating system running on it, is called a virtual machine, while the main operating system and the physical machine are called the host system.

Purpose of VMware Workstation

1. VMware Workstation allows you to try out any (almost any) operating system on your computer without having to create new partitions on your physical hard drive.

2. VMware Workstation allows you to install multiple operating systems on one computer without the need to configure physical hard drives.

3. VMware Workstation allows you to work with several operating systems simultaneously with the ability to dynamically switch between them without rebooting the system.

4. VMware Workstation allows you to test applications running various operating systems (for example, XP and 8).

5. VMware Workstation allows you to emulate a computer network.

6. VMware Workstation allows you to reduce the risk of infection of the host system by running unsafe software in an isolated virtual environment.

7. Teachers use VMware Workstation to create virtual machines for students that include all the applications required for teaching. Nothing bad will happen if a student, during the learning process, intentionally or accidentally destroys the experimental environment. It will take only a few seconds to restore a damaged virtual system from a backup copy (a previously created Snapshot).

System requirements VMware Workstation Technology Preview 2014

As stated in the VMware Workstation Technology Preview 2014 documentation, platform system requirements are similar to VMware Workstation 10, with the following exceptions:

1. 32-bit operating systems are no longer supported as a host system (now the platform can only be installed on 64-bit systems)

2. Windows XP 64-Bit, Windows Vista 64-Bit, Windows Server 2003 64-Bit and Windows Server 2008 (64-bit (not including R2) are also not supported as a host system

Otherwise, system requirements are similar to VMware Workstation 10

• Minimum processor clock speed 1.3 GHz
• The minimum amount of RAM for the host system is 1GB, 2GB is recommended.
• The minimum amount of RAM for a guest system is 256 MB.
• 1.5 GB of free hard disk space

There are versions of the program for Windows and Linux. Windows and Linux versions of the program have a single serial number, so when purchasing an application for one of these OSs, the user can use it for free on the other. If you need a program for Mac, you must install VMware Fusion.

VMware also has a free product - VMware Player, which can be used free of charge for personal, non-commercial purposes.

What is the difference between VMware Player and VMware Workstation?

VMware Workstation is a much more powerful solution with advanced features such as snapshotting, remote vSphere connections, cloning, virtual machine sharing, advanced configuration, and more. Workstation is intended for use by technical professionals - developers, quality assurance specialists, systems engineers, IT administrators, technical support specialists, consultants, etc.

Installing VMware Workstation

1. Download preview of VMware Workstation 11

M50AC-J034J-08L8A-03ARM-3D14A

c. Download program. To download the program, you must register on the site.

2. Run the program installation file VMwareWorkstation(the new version of VMware Workstation is installed only on 64 bit Windows systems).

3. At the first step of installing the program, click the button Next

4. In the license agreement dialog box, set the radio button I accept the terms in the license agreement and press Next

5. In the next window for selecting the installation method for the program, specify Typical

6. Specify the path for installing the program VMwareWorkstation and press Next

7. If you want the VMware Workstation program to check for updates when you start, check whether the checkbox is checked Check for product updates on startup and press Next

8. In the next window, you must specify whether the program will send anonymous statistics to VMware. These statistics include the name of the product being used, version, build number, and program configuration. This data allows the company to identify popular configurations and timely optimize its product in the right direction.10. Upon completion of the installation, you must enter the program license key, which was indicated above.

11. When installation is complete, press the button Finish

Let's take a closer look at what virtual machines for Windows are and what they are needed for. Learn all about the best OS simulators and how to get started using them.

A virtual machine (VM) is a computer application that allows a user to simulate an operating system. An OS image is installed on the machine for use within an existing system. Very convenient, isn't it? But there are also pitfalls. Read what you will encounter during installation and which virtual machine for Windows versions 7,8 and 10 is better to choose.

Why do we need virtual machines for PCs?

In most cases, VMs are used for testing software in . To work with multiple operating systems, you only need one computer, which significantly speeds up your work.

You can run multiple virtual machines on one computer at the same time. Their number depends on the available RAM and space on the child’s disk, since the virtual OS consumes exactly the same memory resource as a regular copy installed on the computer.

Using virtual machines, you can work with programs and functions that are not available in the main OS. Also, it is possible to create backup copies of VMs, with their subsequent movement and use on other computers.

Viruses, errors and other failures of the virtual OS do not affect the operation of the main system. After closing the machine, the operation of the additional OS stops and the RAM is freed.

During VM operation, the device may slow down, because increased consumption of storage resources leads to increased request processing time.

Reasons for installing a VM:

• You want to get acquainted with the work of other operating systems without fully installing them. If you need to replace your existing OS, first use a virtual simulator to test other software options. This will save you from possible bugs and incompatibility with hardware;
• You are a developer and want to create a comprehensive system for testing the applications you create.

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a virtual machine for Windows 7,8,10. The virtualization environment is distributed free of charge and can be installed both for working with operating systems and for deploying network infrastructure and website hosting.

VirtualBox main window:

The main feature of this virtual machine is cross-platform. It works great on all versions of Windows. You can also download installers for Mac OS and Debian from the developer’s website. In the virtualization environment itself, you can install any desktop OS.

Using VirtualBox, you can familiarize yourself with the functionality of the OS or test the program in safe mode without harming the main system. Often users prefer to install old games on virtual machines that are incompatible with modern operating systems.

After finishing the simulator, all data and changes will be saved. The next time you turn on, you will be returned to the desktop and can continue performing tasks.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of VirtualBox:

• Free distribution. 90% of similar software is paid, while VirtualBox can be obtained completely free of charge. The functions and capabilities of the program are not limited to the developer;
• Ability to create screenshots – screenshots of a virtual system. The resulting image will only display the secondary OS window. Creating screenshots using the main OS degrades the resolution and also captures your regular desktop;
• Creating an exact copy of an existing virtual machine;
• Ability to drag folders, shortcuts and other objects inside the simulator;
• Unified file system – from a virtual machine you can access directories that are stored on a PC, and vice versa;
• Simultaneous work with several machines.

Also, a distinctive feature of the new VirtualBox 4 is a convenient virtualization management system and an intuitive program workspace. Also, the new build offers the ability to capture video from the screen of an additional OS.

VirtualBox supports working with USB drives connected to the computer.

Disadvantages of the program:

• Slowdown of the computer. Even if your PC has good technical specifications, sufficient RAM and storage space, when using a virtual machine, you will experience slower performance of all functions. If during the creation of a VM you allocated too much memory to it, the computer will freeze or shut down severely;
• Insufficient video memory. If you need to achieve the best possible image quality, it will be difficult to do it using VirtualBox. The program allows you to configure the settings for using the video card only at a basic level.

How to install

To install the VirtualBox program, download the installer from the official website of the developer, Oracle. The installation process is standard and does not require additional settings:

• Run the EXE file;
• Select the Hard drive on which the root folder with the program will be located;
• Wait for the installation to complete. If necessary, the user can view statistics on hard disk usage during the installation process.

In the “Custom Setup” field it is possible to disable support for USB and network services. This allows you to reduce the final size of the application.

Video instructions on how to install two OS using VirtualBox

Once the program is installed, you can begin creating your first virtual machine. Click on the “Create” button in the upper left corner of the window. The VM settings tab will open:

In the setup wizard window, select the type of virtual OS (Windows, Linux, Debian, MacOS) and its version. Set a name for the simulator to be created and click on the “Next” button.

Then, the program will give you the opportunity to independently specify the size of RAM that will be allocated for the additional OS. For novice users, we recommend setting the value indicated in the “Recommended main memory size” field.

The size of RAM for a VM should be determined depending on the technical characteristics of your PC. If your computer has 4 GB of RAM available, 512 MB-1 GB will be enough for the simulator to run normally.

Next, the program will ask you to select an OS image in the file system (which corresponds to the previously specified family and version). After completing the setup, a window will appear with a brief listing of all parameters. Click on "Finish".

After the installation of virtual Windows is completed, an icon for launching the OS will appear in the main VirtualBox window. Click on it and wait for the desktop to load. If necessary, install drivers.

To automatically update drivers, open the “devices” tab on the virtual machine toolbar. Then click on the desired media type and in the new window follow the instructions to obtain the new software.

Ready. Now you can start working with the virtual operating system. To exit the program, first turn off the OS and then close VirtualBox.

VMware

VMWare Workstation is the best virtual machine for Windows 10. The developer positions the program as a convenient platform for creating . Compared to other popular analogues, VMWare supports more functions for customizing a virtual machine and allows you to synchronize the simulator with software development tools.

This virtualization environment is popular among programmers, web designers and other specialists who often have to test their projects for cross-platform functionality.

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the advantages of VMWare are:

• Convenient toolbar;
• Synchronization with Microsoft development tools, in particular the .NET platform and the Visual Studio software environment;
• Safety system. Built-in VMWare tools provide a high level of protection for your files in the secondary OS. The simulator can detect attempts by malicious activity to eliminate them;
• Operation of encryption services for created virtual machines.

Disadvantages of the application:

• Paid distribution. The user can download a free trial version of the utility, but to get the full version of the application with all available functions, you will need to pay an annual or monthly subscription;
• Not suitable for beginners. If you have not used operating system simulators before, we recommend starting with simpler options. For example, VirtualBox and the standard Hyper V for Windows. VMWare is suitable for advanced users who prefer to configure the system manually.

How to install

You can download the virtual machine for Windows from the official website of the developer VMWare.com.

During the installation process, it is recommended to turn off Windows Defender or any other running antivirus. This is only necessary for the correct installation of all files and encryption algorithms that the program uses for virtual machines. No harm will be done to your main OS, since the product was downloaded from an official source.

Overview of functionality and first setup of the program

To create your first virtual machine in VMWare, you will need to download the OS distribution kit that you want to use in the emulator to your computer. Then open the installed application window and click on the “Create a new virtual machine” field

Note! The user can create a group of virtual machines, instead of several simulators. This allows you to reduce the resource of consumed RAM and speed up the operation of the computer and the OS simulator.

In the VM Setup Wizard window, specify the path to the operating system image (this can be a file in the computer's memory or a boot disk). It is also possible to configure a virtual machine without installing the OS (it can be installed later).

• In the window that appears, specify the OS name, user name and account access password;
• Specify on which disk of your computer the virtual machine will be stored;
• Select the amount of RAM you need to run the VM;
• Configure the equipment (automatically or manually).

After completing the setup of the virtual machine, wait for the OS image to install and start working:

Microsoft Virtual PC

Microsoft Virtual PC is another popular virtual machine emulator. The program is well compatible with all versions of OS Windows. If you use a Microsoft product as your main OS, we recommend choosing Microsoft Virtual PC for emulation.

Advantages and disadvantages

Emulator advantages:

• Excellent compatibility with all versions of Windows OS. In most cases, the user does not need to install any additional drivers for the virtual OS. All of them are synchronized with the main system;
• File system sharing. Access files stored on your PC hard drive through a VM window;
• Support for 64-bit Windows OS in “Guest Host” and “Guest Environment” operating modes;
• Support for hardware virtualization.

Flaws:

• There are paid features. The program is distributed free of charge, but to support setting up a group of virtual OSes you will have to buy a subscription;
• There is no support for Linux-like systems.

Overview of functionality and first setup of the program

To install a virtual OS, first download its image to your computer's memory, and then open the Microsoft Virtual PC application. Click on the “Create virtual machine” button and configure the following parameters in the new window:

• Set the name of the new OS;
• Allocate space for its hard drive and the size of RAM;
• Select what devices the VM will support (network environment, flash drives, etc.).

Bottom line

We told you about the best virtual machines for Windows, but not all of them. If you think that these are not the best, write in the comments! Help new readers decide which emulator to start with.

VvirtualBox– virtualization software product for Microsoft Windows, DOS, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and SUN Solaris/OpenSolaris operating systems. The program was created by Innotek using the open source Qemu code. The first publicly available version of VirtualBox appeared on January 15, 2007.

In February 2008, Innotek was acquired by Sun Microsystems, but the VirtualBox distribution model remained unchanged.

TO Key features of VirtualBox can be attributed:

Cross-platform

Modularity

USB 2.0 support when host devices are made available to guest OSs

Built-in RDP server, as well as support for USB client devices over the RDP protocol

Experimental support for VMDK/VMware hard drive images

iSCSI support

Audio device virtualization support

Support for various types of network communication (NAT, Host Networking via Bridged, Internal)

Support for a tree of saved virtual machine states (snapshots), which can be rolled back from any state of the guest system

Shared Folders support for easy file sharing between host and guest systems

SupportedVirtualBoxhostOS:

Windows: Windows XP, all service packs (32-bit), Windows Server 2003 (32-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)

Apple Mac OS X(Intel hardware only, all versions of Mac OS X supported)

Linux: Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (“sarge”) and 4.0 (“etch”), Fedora Core 4 to 8, Gentoo Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux 3, 4 and 5, SUSE Linux 9 and 10, openSUSE 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3, Ubuntu 5.10 (“Breezy Badger”), 6.06 (“Dapper Drake”), 6.10 (“Edgy Eft”), 7.04 (“Feisty Fawn”), 7.10 (“Gutsy Gibbon”), Mandriva 2007.1 and 2008.0

SupportedVirtualBoxguestOS:

Windows NT 4.0 All versions

Windows 2000 / XP / Server 2003 / Vista All versions

DOS/Windows 3.x/95/98/ME

Linux 2.6 All versions

Solaris 10, OpenSolaris

OpenBSD Versions 3.7 and 3.8 are supported

III. VirtualBox main window: interface elements, basic settings

Start the VirtualBox environment:

Start ProgramsSunxVMVirtualBoxVirtualBox

The left side of the window displays a list of installed virtual machines (initially it is absent). The right side of the window displays the properties and characteristics of the current (active) virtual machine. The VirtualBox environment settings are available from the main menu.

Perform the initial setup of the VirtualBox environment:

File  Settings opens a window that allows you to specify the path to the virtual machine files (specify D:\SOS\Machines) and to the virtual hard disk files (specify D:\SOS\VDI), as well as specify the Host key to use (default Right Ctrl ), Interface language.

File  Virtual Hard Disk Manager opens a window that allows you to connect ready-made virtual hard disks, CD/DVD image files, floppy disk image files (connect the files in the D:\SOS\Image\MS-DOS 6.22\.. directory)

Virtual machines [Several computers in one] Gultyaev Alexey Konstantinovich

System requirements

System requirements

The minimum requirements that must be met by the technical characteristics of the host computer intended to install Virtual PC 2004 significantly depend on the range of guest OSes installed on the virtual machines. This is understandable - after all, the guest OS requires almost the same resources that an OS of this type uses when operating in “real” mode. However, the Virtual PC application itself requires certain computing resources.

Processor with x86 architecture (AMD Athlon/Duron, Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium II, Intel Pentium III, Intel Pentium 4), clock frequency of at least 400 MHz (recommended frequency - 1 GHz and higher) and second level cache (L2 cache). Virtual PC also supports AMD Opteron processors, but only when using a 32-bit host OS. It is possible to run Virtual PC on multiprocessor systems, but there will still only be one processor.

Super VGA video adapter with a resolution of at least 800×600.

The host OS can be Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

The minimum required RAM capacity and the amount of free hard disk space depend on the host OS used; the relevant information is given in table. 2.1.

Table 2.1. Requirements for RAM capacity and free hard disk space

For each guest OS, its own requirements for OS capacity and disk space should be taken into account (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2. Requirements for RAM capacity and free hard disk space for guest operating systems

If you plan to simultaneously run several VMs with different OSes, then their requirements for RAM capacity should, of course, be summed up.

The required host computer configuration must be provided before installing Virtual PC. For example, if you plan to install both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 98 as guest operating systems, then for them to work together you must have 160 MB of RAM in addition to the needs of the Virtual PC application itself and the host OS.

Virtual PC supports two serial (COM) and one parallel (LPT) ports for each guest OS. Working with USB devices in a guest OS environment is impossible. However, it is possible for the guest OS to access services provided by a USB device connected to a physical port on the host computer. For example, you can create a shared (common) folder in the guest OS environment and copy files into it from a Flash Drive connected to the USB port of the host computer.

Software-Specific System Requirements The system requirements specified for the software are generally referred to in the CMM as “specified requirements.” They represent a subset of system requirements that must be implemented in the software components of the system.